So you’ve realized that content marketing is important and you’ve made an effort to get stuff out there. You’re seeing results, they’re just not what you expected and not really getting any better over time. Are you doing something wrong?
It’s possible that you might be making some common mistakes that can easily be fixed. Here are four examples of common content marketing mistakes, and how to fix them.
1. Losing touch with your audience and their needs
Your content might be too much about promoting your company and products, and not enough about bringing value to your readers. If you’re the one writing it, maybe you’re focusing too much on what you’re interested in, rather than what your readers are interested in. If someone else is writing content for you, maybe they’re doing the same thing. Small businesses tend to make this mistake more than any other one.
Fixing it: Re-evaluate your content and what you’re trying to accomplish. Good content should be helpful to your customers — it should be informative and educate them. Think like them and get yourself a step ahead.
What questions would they be asking if they were interested in your product or service? Use your content to answer their questions and give them the information that they want. Watch your social media for hot topics or high engagement. Find a competitor that’s doing well and see what they’re publishing. Most of all, if you’re looking for useful content to publish, ask your customers what they want to know.
2. Not posting enough
People want new content on a regular basis, they’re not looking for a post every few months. This doesn’t mean posting so often that it comes across as spamming, but it does mean finding a schedule that works for you.
Fixing it: Give yourself a schedule and stick to it. Start with posting twice a week and if you can manage to keep up with that, move on to three times a week. Stick to the same days every week, and don’t change them. Make sure to get content written in advance and get it scheduled to post so you’re not leaving it until your deadline. Short articles are ideal — they will bring in just as much traffic as longer ones, sometimes more, and take less time to write.
3. Your content marketing plan is just your blog
Content marketing isn’t just about blogs, it’s a multi-channel system that allows you to pull in potential customers from many different areas. Infographics, videos, slide decks, email newsletters, e-books, and whitepapers are several examples of content marketing. The more of these you are able to use, the more chances you will have of someone falling into your sales funnel.
Fixing it: Make sure your content marketing plan is varied and pulls from many different marketing channels. For example, if you’re trying to sell an app designed to promote health and well being, write posts about healthy food choices; use a press release to announce its initial launch; make a PowerPoint presentation about the right exercises to do and post it on Slideshare; write an e-book about the health benefits of losing weight through exercise and smart eating; use an email campaign to educate potential clients about your product and turn them into members; and make an infographic explaining the obesity problem in the United States.
4. You’re not pulling in enough traffic
Having great content doesn’t matter if there isn’t anyone reading it. Promoting your new content on social media channels is incredibly important if you want to bring in new readers and potential customers. You can’t get new people connected to your brand if you’re not promoting on social media enough.
Fixing it: Every piece of content needs to be promoted, regardless of what it is, on every social media account that your business has. Once you’ve covered Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, consider looking into other tools. Social bookmarking tools like BizSugar, and EzineArticles plus content sharing communities like the Social Buzz Club are some examples.
Focus more on your content and get creative — not only will you increase your potential reach but you will start to see much better results from your efforts.
About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:
Since 2006, Out of the Office has offered ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, and offering creative solutions for your business success.